Do you have a dream? Ironically this is a pathetic question for many HKers. Because most of us do not have a dream.
There are various root causes — high living costs, education, peers pressure, family value, society norm, etc.
Many of us are trained to pursue a stable life as we grow up. And indeed, many of us spend our whole life just to make an average income with a stable job to feed their family and pay off their mortgage.
As such, many of us end up with mundane jobs and careers, predominantly finance and real estate-related. However, it’s difficult to imagine a person would genuinely enjoy his job in finance or real estate, despite that’s what most of us do.
Recently I like asking friends around me, “if you have $100 million in your bank, what would you do for the rest of your life?” (In other words, what’s your dream?) Unfortunately not many of us have an answer. Indeed, we are all slaves to money for life. More precisely, we are salt fish.
There are always “life coaches” around us to tell us not to do things. They always sincerely guide you to a “perfect life” by sticking to the most commonly accepted path — going to traditional schools, working for the sizable corporations or the government, buying a property, then the rest will take care of itself and you will be a “life winner”. And these people end up doing nothing worth remembering for their entire life and eventually pass away with regrets. And that may be the primary reason why Hong Kong is dying and not advancing the way it should.
Since when having a dream is a luxury? Since when all our lives are dictated by social norm? Since when owning a property and paying off mortgage become a core part of our life? Since when we lost our right to pursue what we want? Since when we all prefer surviving over living?
Living without dreams is saddening and depressing. It’s true that the living costs are so high that are unaffordable to many of us. But it’s also true that many of us who can afford use it as an self-inflicted excuse. What after we have a place to live in? We want a better place. What after we have a better place? We want a car. And we also want a better watch, a better TV and a better cell phone.
“The things you own end up owning you.” — Tyler Durden
“We buy things we don’t need to impress people we don’t like.” — Tyer Durden
“Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate, so we can buy shit we don’t need.” — Tyler Durden
Earlier this week, Austin said he wanted to be a chef, and that made my day. (He was probably kidding though, as he said he wanted to be an engineer on the following day.) And I came to think, all of us used to have dreams, i.e. there are things we wanted to do when we were kids, but we give up and we give in as we age.
I was once a money slave for years but I realize it’s time to stop. I am going to quit my mundane job and pursue things I like. “Life coaches” talk about uncertainties and risks that you shouldn’t take, especially beyond a certain age, but these life coaches are usually those who have achieved nothing, and it’s a mistake to take advice from someone who have achieved nothing.
